CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Jasmine Leovao made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Tuesday as fifth-seeded Eastern Michigan extended its stunning run in the NCAA Women's Golf Championship by knocking off Texas to reach the semifinals.
Eastern Michigan was ranked No. 227 two years ago when it hired Josh Brewer, who had been fired after 12 years at Georgia. The Eagles reached the NCAAs for the first time this year, then rallied to be among eight teams that qualified for match play.
Leovao's twin sister, Janae, defeated NCAA individual champion Farah O'Keefe, 5 and 4. Savannah de Bock of Belgium, who followed Brewer from Georgia, easily handled Angela Heo, 5 and 3.
Jasmine Leovao's putt dropped on the final turn, and the celebration was on. The Leovao twins grew up in Oceanside and started their careers at Long Beach State until transferring.
“Don't wake me up,” Brewer said after the winning putt that clinched the 3 1/2-1/2 victory. “For this kid to come to Eastern Michigan from here and make that putt? Storybook. So why stop?”
It didn't get any easier for Eastern Michigan, which faced top-seeded Stanford later Tuesday at La Costa Resort. The Cardinal, going for its third NCAA team title in five years, defeated Pepperdine.
Southern California won three of the five matches to beat Duke, with none of the matches getting going longer than 15 holes. USC moved on to face Arkansas, which didn't lose a match in beating Oklahoma State.
